Latifah Oo...o Latifah !!

Finally, the by-election for Permatang Pauh had ended with Datuk Seri Anwar's sweeping victory of a majority of 15,671 votes! One cannot deny that the voters of Permatang Pauh had written a new chapter of Malaysia's history. We see miracle happened in Permatang Pauh through the tremendous peoples' power of all races. Kudoes to all voters at Permatang Pauh!

The message sent by the people of Permatang Pauh was clear and loud. The people wants to see changes and make changes for salvage of our country. Under the BN's 51 years of corrupt leadership and "torture", we, Malaysian had suffered enough.

The people knows exactly what to do to save our country! The result says it all.

BN deserves the defeat! UMNO had been buried alive! So what say you now "son-in-law"?

It is not difficult to understand the mentality of the UMNO's leaders. I see them as having "NAIVE" mindsets.

Interview was made by The New Paper with Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and his wife, Datin Latifah Asmawi.

“I gave it more than 100 per cent, this campaign. To say I'm frustrated is not it, I'm beyond that now. "I can say that I really cannot understand what the voters want" says Datin Latifah Asmawi.

I would like to say to Latifah, you cannot understand what the voters want is because you and your husband were blurred by UMNO's dirty propaganda and its denial syndrome of people's problems for 51 years. It is UMNO that distance away from the people. It is UMNO that plays the "Race Card" although all races live as one Malaysian. Thus, the people has every right to reject someone who is blurred and not fit to stay as the government of the day. Also, Latifah, please understand, many see that your husband had been used by UMNO as "Scapegoat" in this by election.

So, Latifah Oo..o Latifah, please don't blame the people but UMNO, Paklah, Najib, Son-in law ok?

Guan Eng wins easily

Source: TheMalaysianInsider (http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/7952-guan-eng-wins-easily)
By Leslie Lau

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 — Any doubt that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was the big winner in tonight's "live" televised debate with his predecessor Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon was probably erased during the winding up by the two men.

The knock-out punch came in this one-liner from Lim: "If there was no corruption in the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government, then they would not have fallen in the March election tsunami."

But Koh was not the only loser in the debate.

Lim scored points against Umno and the BN as well by using the occasion to insinuate Koh was still protecting his coalition partners and that he had given special treatment when allocating land to those with political connections.

"Why was special treatment given to Abad Naluri in the allocation of land originally meant for recreational purposes to be converted to one for mixed development for the Penang Global City Centre project?" he asked.

Koh may have thought the occasion was an opportunity for him to score political points in a valiant attempt to revive his decimated Gerakan party.

He was wrong.

Handshake between Lim Guan Eng (left) and Koh Tsu Koon at tonight's debate. — picture by Choo Choy May

His advisers should have told him that the topic of the debate, to discuss accusations by Lim that his government had mismanaged various land deals and caused hundreds of millions of ringgit in losses to the state government, would cause him to be on the backfoot.

And indeed, Koh looked uncomfortable and defensive, except for a few glib comments and retorts, in the form of accusing his political foe of being more interested in attacking him then in governing the state.

"He is now the CM but yet he still behaves like he is still in opposition," said Koh at the beginning of the night's proceedings.

That was probably as good as it got for Koh.

Lim, on the other hand, appeared to understand the art of debating in politics.

He hammered home the point that the previous state government's mistake in alienating land that it did not own to a quarry operator had caused more than RM40 million in damages to the state's coffers.

The DAP secretary-general also kept asking the question of why Koh's administration had not taken action against the officer responsible for the mistake.

But more than just debating the alleged land scams, Lim used the occasion to highlight his administration's manifesto, publicising his commitment to "competency, accountability and transparency," or CAT as it has become popularly known.

Koh attempted throughout the debate to defend his administration, pointing out that two probes conducted by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) found no wrongdoing.

Perhaps his advisers should have also told him that public confidence in the ACA remains low even now.

Strangely, Koh resorted at one point to his almost photographic memory of the dimensions of his former office to defend accusations that he had handed over an almost empty office to Lim after losing in the elections.

"The Chief Minister's Office on the 28th floor has more than 14,000 square feet of office space. The CM's room has more than 2,000 square feet. All the files are kept in the cabinet. The desk may have been empty but that does not mean there were no files," he said.

Lim's reply to that was to stick to his point that he found no files.

"We had to dig, dig, dig ourselves. But do not worry because when we had no resources in opposition we still managed to uncover scandals, what more when we are in government."

But perhaps the moment which underscored the uneasiness in which Koh found himself in tonight was when he was answering a question on how he thought land administration could be improved.

He said that improving the administration was a continuing process and was an "unending struggle".

Perhaps that was not quite the answer that should have been given by a man defending almost two decades in power as chief minister.

Gerakan is already wracked by infighting and in much turmoil following the loss of Penang to the DAP.

Its acting president may have to do more than appear on television to regain political support.

New Bidders to take over Bakun

It is reported in theedgedaily today that "Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Sarawak Energy Bhd have jointly put in a bid to take over the Bakun hydroelectric dam and the multi-billion-ringgit undersea cable project which will transmit power to the peninsula."

As revealed, Peninsular would be getting cheap power from Bakun Dam after completion of project. However, there is nothing said to benefit Sarawak. Since Penisular could get cheaper power, why not Sarawak too? We, Sarawakians are now paying the most expensive domestic electricity tariff in the whole of Malaysia.

I had asked the Minister of Public Utilities Dato Sri Awang Tengah at least twice in my questions submitted to the Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak during the previous Dewan sittings on whether Sarawakian will enjoy cheaper electricity tariff after completion of the Bakun Dam project, guess what, no answer has ever been furnished to me until today. What is there to hide? Unless Sarawak Energy Berhad intends to increase the electricity tariff!! Very irresponsible act of them!

Bakun Dam another BN "White Elephant" Project?

You may read below the news from theedgedaily:

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13-08-2008: Tenaga and S’wak Energy bid for Bakun
by Nadia S Hassan & Joy Lee May Yen
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Sarawak Energy Bhd have jointly put in a bid to take over the Bakun hydroelectric dam and the multi-billion-ringgit undersea cable project which will transmit power to the peninsula.

Sources said the proposal, which was submitted to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the Ministry of Finance two weeks ago, has Tenaga and Sarawak Energy taking an equal share in the dam project.

As for the undersea cable project, the two utility companies proposed that the federal government take a share, with the remaining stake to be split equally between Tenaga and Sarawak Energy.

The two parties also proposed that the overhead transmission cables from Bakun to the Sarawak coast be installed by Sarawak Energy while Tenaga will take care of the transmission lines in the peninsula.

“The proposal was submitted two weeks ago to the EPU. They are waiting for feedback,” said a source.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, speaking at the launch of the SME Technopreneur Centre II in Cyberjaya yesterday, confirmed that Tenaga had submitted a proposal for the much-maligned Bakun project, but offered no further details.

Despite uncertainties over who would eventually own Bakun Dam, Nor Mohamed reiterated that the project is on schedule and due to be completed by 2010.

In a related development, Bloomberg quoted Tenaga’s chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Nor as saying that the national electricity company would be willing to take over the cable job since Sime Darby Bhd had declined to do so.

“Since Sime is not interested, it is only logical for Tenaga to offer (to undertake) the construction of the undersea cable so as not to further delay the project,” he told the wire news service.

The cost of completing the dam has been estimated at around RM5.5 billion, while a two-year delay would add another RM500 million to the price tag. The two submarine cables are expected to cost around RM10.9 billion.

Sime Darby, which was set to purchase a 60% equity interest in the Ministry of Finance-owned Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd which is building the dam, pulled out in June, citing a conflict with its business strategy.

Apart from owning a stake in the dam, Sime Darby also wanted to own 60% of the cable project. The other shareholders in the company undertaking the cable project were to beTenaga and the Ministry of Finance, each with 20%.

It has been reported that Sime Darby and Tenaga could not come to a power-purchase agreement.

The mammoth 2,400 MW Bakun dam forms a pivotal part of the country’s future power-generation mix. It is expected to supply cheap power to Peninsular Malaysia post-2013, helping to reduce the country’s dependence on expensive fossil fuel. Some 1,600 MW are expected to be channelled through the 676km undersea cables from the Sarawak coast.

朋岭广利银行路店屋后废轮胎再现

朋岭广利银行路店屋后废轮胎再现，我们希望南市市政局即刻给予关注，并尽速采取行动。
我在接获该处数名商家投诉指该处店屋后空地又再出现废轮胎，也亲自前往巡视。
该地点之前也出现废轮胎堆积如山的情况，这不单将成为蚊虫滋长的温床，且也潜藏着火患的危机，一旦发生火患，将一发不可收拾。
今次再出现的废轮胎，虽然数量不及以前，但如果当局不及早采取行动，废轮胎很快又会堆积如山。
据一些投诉者表示，当地的一些商家们曾联合签名，要求南市市政局关注此事，但却没有获得下文。鉴此，我希望市政局能以当地商家及居民的安全与健康为重，即刻关注此事，并采取必要的行动。

Why No Housing Tribunal In Sarawak?

In Malaysia, Sarawak is the only state that has yet to set up a housing tribunal to hear complaints from house buyers against the developers arsing from the Sale and Purchase Agreement.

Should the purchasers encounter any problems or disputes pertaining to their properties, they can only seek redress through the court.

Nowadays, many developers in Sarawak are getting more and more irresponsible. As a result, the number of complaints from house buyers have increased drasticly. There are many cases where house buyers whom their newly purchased properties have serious defects due to usage of low quality building materials or that their properties are not built in a workmanlike manner or in accordance with the approved building plans.

For those who are poor and cannot afford to engage a lawyer, they have no choice but only eat "dead cat".

I see the reason put up by the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Housing, Sarawak Abang Affandy Abang Annuar as to why the state government has no intention to set up the housing tribunal as unreasonable and irresponsible statement.

He told thesundaypost sometime in January, 2008 that "As it is now there are just not enough cases to warrant the setting up of a housing tribunal. It is just like setting up a court and is not easy to do."

In my opinion, whether there are enough or not enough cases of complaints from house buyers, it is necessary and the very duty of the state government to safe guard the interest of the house buyers because not everyone is rich enough to get a lawyer to represent them to fight for their rights under the agreement which they had entered with the developers.

Has it been because the developers are the "protected species" in Sarawak that the state government sees no urgency to set up the housing tribunal? Or has it been because there are many "kantows" in the protected species?

This morning, I hold a press conference at Taman Million, along Jalan Kempas, Kuching at the request of the purchasers because the developer has been very stubborn and not willing to carry out rectification works to the serious defects of their properties.

They bought the houses at a very dear price. Over RM330,000.00 for an intermediate double storey terraced house and over RM420,000.00 for a corner double storey terraced house.

They had made two trips each to the Ministry of Housing, Sarawak and MBKS for helps to their problems, but both authorities are not being helpful to them. Ministry of Housing promised to fix a date for all parties concerned to attend to solve the problem, but until todate it has not been materialized. As for MBKS, the officer in charged told the purchasers that since they had seek help from Violet of DAP, they cannot offer anymore help. How ridiculous!!

You sure will get shock of the poor and lousy quality of the houses which they had purchased. Furthermore, there are four houses which are now infected with termites!! No joke!! I cannot believe it when I saw it with my own eyes. Let me show you.

Picture1: Angry Mr. Kho is holding a broken piece of wood which had dropped from the roof truss of his unit!!

Picture 2: Poorly joint roof truss in every unit


Picture 3: Mr. Kho shows the low ceiling at the staircase. The height of the ceiling is much lower than the approved height. Mr. Kho's has to lower his head when he walks up or down the staircase to avoid the hit!!


Picture 4: Staircase timber handrail: poorly assembled and sharp pointing edges


Picture 5: Poorly finished floor skirting


Picture 6: Again, simply nailed roof truss with cracked woods

Can you believe MBKS has issued the Occupation Permit for all the houses which are full of defects?

Can Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim make his way into the Parliament?

Time is tickling towards the golden time i.e. 16th September, 2008. It is only 47 days to go!

After the 12th General Election, Datuk Seri Anwar has since claimed that there will be a changed in Malaysia political power on 16.9.2008. Finally, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah made an anouncement yesterday to resign as the MP for Permatang Pauh which she holds for three terms since 1999 to make way for the return of her husband into the Malaysia political front.

Defintely, a by-election will be called soon. On the 8th March, 2008, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah won a majority of more than 13,000 votes. No doubt, Pematang Bauh is a safe seat for PKR. With the advantage of PR held state of Penang, it can be very certain that the majority votes will be increased. But, from past histories of Malaysia politics, we know that the BN machinery will sure take all desperate and dirty moves to deny Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a seat in parliament.

So far, UNMO has not broken its silence on the political comeback of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. But, undoubtfully, visible and invisible blockages are everywhere to block Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed that he is confidence of winning, but I would say it is "Tough" and not an easy sailing battle.

Can Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim make it as MP of Pematang Bauh? Only time will tell!! All the best to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim!!